Niche markets offered educational support

THE Bahamas Tourist Office has organised a series of educationals in a bid to capitalise on demand for niche products.

Products such as weddings and honeymoons, diving, boating and fishing attract year-round sales and the BTO has organised trips to publicise each sector.

Fam trips that will focus on the diving product are planned for the end of September and April 2000.

BTO general manager Jeremy Bonnet said:”The Bahamas offers some of the best opportunities for divers – both novice and expert – worldwide. There are more than 25 dive centres on the islands, and hundreds of different dive sites.”

A wedding fam trip will take place in April 2000. September will also see trips for conference and incentive travel, as well as fishing.

The Bahamas Tourist Office in London has also appointed representatives to deal specifically with niche-market enquiries.

Heather Carey is in charge of diving holidays, as well as weddings and honeymoons. Jason King heads up the boating and fishing markets and Cleveland Williams deals with conference and incentive travel and golf.

The majority of this year’s advertising campaign is promoting either destination awareness, or the new Bahamas Tourism Institute training package.

A variety of new promotional material also aims to encourage operators’ and agents’ knowledge of the islands.

Tours highlighting the local wildlife and natural attractions are a relatively new feature on many itineraries – and a market Bonnet is keen to promote.

Swimming with dolphins is a popular choice with beginners, while the more adventurous can dive with sharks.

But getting back to nature needn’t mean getting wet. The islands have acres of virgin forest, not to mention 25 unique species of birds, making it a paradise for twitchers and trekkers alike.

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